Posts tagged: Easy

The artichoke is a delicious, nutritious vegetable that works well both as an entree or a side dish. There are many ways to prepare and enjoy artichokes so we’re sharing how to cook artichokes three different ways. If you’ve never cooked artichokes before, don’t fret. It’s much easier than it looks and the results are tastier than you can imagine!

Artichokes are thistles which are flowering plants that fall into the vegetable category. This edible plant is full of vitamins C and K, antioxidants, fiber, and minerals. Artichokes have detoxifying properties and may aid the liver in ridding the body of toxins. They may also help to prevent disease with their high antioxidant content. Another amazing benefit of eating artichokes is, on average, an artichoke contains around 10 grams of fiber, which is crucial for healthy digestion. Artichokes may also help to regulate blood pressure and cholesterol, making these a heart-healthy choice!

If you’re lucky enough to live in sunshine-filled California, you can enjoy artichokes year-around. Their peak season is March through May so spring is an optimal time to head to the farmers market and pick up some farm-fresh artichokes. When selecting artichokes, first check the weight and texture. You’ll want a heavy, firm artichoke that’s free of bruising and heavy discoloration. Some purple streaks are normal and are present in most artichokes. A ripe and ready artichoke has tightly packed leaves, if they are separating and opening up, the artichoke will be dried out and will lack flavor.

For optimum health benefits, buy organic artichokes. Conventional artichokes can be heavily sprayed with pesticides. Plus organic artichokes will be even tastier! Once you’ve picked your perfect artichokes, you’re ready to move on to the preparation phase. Follow our simple steps and you’ll be ready to cook ‘em up!

How To Cook Artichokes

Step OneRinse your artichokes, allowing water to stream into the inner and outer leaves. Shake out the artichoke in the sink and then pat dry.

Step TwoPull off the base leaves closest to the stem and discard. Trim the remaining leaves by cutting off the sharp, pointy edges.

Step ThreeUsing a sharp chef’s knife, chop off about ¾ inch off the crown of the artichoke.

Step FourCut off ¼ inch from the bottom of the stem and discard. Using a vegetable peeler, peel around the stem. Next, chop ¾ of the stem off the artichoke but don’t discard! Cut the remaining stem into medallions as pictured. Reserve for later use.

Step FiveRub half of a lemon around the outside of the artichoke. This will help prevent browning. Set aside. Slice the other half of the lemon into thin rings.

To Boil:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in lemon slices and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Add artichokes, making sure they remain standing up. If you are using the stems, add the medallions to the pot as well. Cover loosely and boil for 30-90 minutes, depending on the size. Small artichokes will only take 30-40 minutes to cook while large artichokes will take 60-90 minutes. To tell if they are done, check to see if the leaf is fork tender. The inner leaves should be removed easily while the fleshy, edible portion of the leaf will be soft enough to bite easily. The stems should also be fork tender, they may finish faster than the artichoke and if so, remove from pot using a slotted spoon and set aside. Once artichokes are done drain in a colander and then serve alongside cooked stems.

To Steam:

Add enough water to a pot so that water reaches the bottom of the steamer basket. Add lemon slices and ½ teaspoon sea salt in the water. Place artichokes and stems in the basket and steam for 30 minutes or until leaves are fork tender. Serve immediately.

To Grill:

Follow steps one through five for preparation. Then, slice the artichokes in half, lengthwise. Remove the fuzzy choke using a spoon and discard. Place the artichokes in a pot of boiling water with lemon slices and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Boil for 20-30 minutes until tender but not falling apart.

Meanwhile, heat up a grill. If using a stove-top grill, heat over medium-high heat and lightly grease the pan with oil. Place the artichokes face down and grill for 3-5 minutes, until grill marks form. If using stems, place them in a grill basket or wrap them in foil and place on the grill until fork tender. If using a grill pan, place the stems directly on the pan. Grill until lightly charred.

How To Eat Artichokes

To eat your cooked artichokes, simply pull off a leaf and dig your teeth into the lower, soft edible flesh. Discard the rest of the leaf. Dip it into a sauce such as olive oil, melted butter, or mayonnaise if desired.

Once you get to the small inner leaves that are completely soft, pull them off and discard. Next, using a spoon scoop out the fuzzy choke. Chop up the artichoke heart and dunk in desired dipping sauce.

To eat the stem medallions, simply dip in dipping sauce and eat! Enjoy!

Karissa Bowers is a fashion and food blogger living a compassionate lifestyle. Karissa is the blogger of Vegan À La Mode where she shares her favorite vegan and gluten-free recipes and also her eco-friendly cruelty-free style. Her love for photographing food and her outfits, drove her to develop a passion for photography. After a few years of honing in on her photography skills, Karissa launched her business, Karissa Bowers Photography, where she shoots weddings and portraits. When she’s not taking photos or in the kitchen, you can find Karissa traveling and trying new vegan restaurants.

The end of the school year can be almost as busy as the holiday season, so it’s a great time to pull out the slow cooker! One of our recent favorites is slow cooker pepper steak because it barely takes any time to prepare and at the end of the day the meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender and full of flavor.

You can serve the steak and peppers over cauliflower “rice” or soaked rice (if you can tolerate grains). A small side salad that takes just a few minutes to prep is a great choice.

Place the onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top the onions with the meat and then add the bell peppers. Whisk together the chicken broth, aminos, tomato paste and garlic and pour over the meat mixture. Gently press the vegetables and meat so the meat is submerged in the broth mixture (this helps prevent the meat from drying out). Cook for 6 hours on low. Serve over cauliflower “rice” or soaked rice.

These days, stepping out midday and buying a to-go lunch often seems easier than packing one yourself. There are dozens of quick lunch places within walking distance of my NYC office building, and some of them have some really delicious, healthy, fun stuff on offer. But still, I’d almost always rather pack my own lunch. It’s less expensive, and it means that I get to pick exactly what I want to eat. That said, sometimes the possibilities seem a little bit overwhelming, and I find myself fumbling over what to buy at the grocery store for the week ahead.

If you also have trouble narrowing down the endless packed lunch options out there, you’re in luck! SELF is putting together weekly lists of seven recipes that will hopefully inspire your meal planning for the week ahead. You can check out past weeks’ recipes here. All of the recipes have a healthy balance of protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs; and, they’re filling, and simple enough for beginner cooks. Several ingredients appear in multiple recipes—kale, quinoa, goat cheese, chickpeas, and tortillas. That, plus some easy ingredient swaps (detailed below), will help keep your grocery list short. There are wraps, salads, and grain bowls on the menu, so you won’t get bored.

The number of servings per recipe varies, but you can easily halve or double each of them as it suits you. Also, you might want to choose just a few recipes and repeat meals for a couple of days (that’s what I do, to be honest!). If you cook one of the recipes or have questions, post a photo on Instagram and tag @selfmagazine and @xtinebyrne (that’s me!), or DM us—we love a good food pic as much as you do, and we’re always here to help!

Pears and cheese are always a good match (you could say they pear well together…), and throwing them into a salad with cooked grains and greens is a great way to make a quick meal. Get the recipe here.

When I’m sick of green salad—it doesn’t happen often, but it happens!—I’ll switch it up by using my vegetable peeler to shave thin carrot ribbons. The carrots are a little bit sweet, so adding savory fillings like grains, chickpeas, and cheese is a good bet. Get the recipe here.

If you’ve decided to try out Whole30, you’re going to need a bunch of Whole30 snack ideas to help you get through it. The trendy diet you’ve probably seen on Instagram is 30 days long and notoriously difficult to get through, because it eliminates all grains, legumes, dairy, added sugars, and processed foods. Fruit, vegetables, meat and fish are what you’re left with, which means finding recipes that fit the bill is that much harder.

Know that the Whole30 is definitely a restrictive diet, and that it certainly isn’t for everybody. Eliminating entire food groups is hard, and SELF has reported at length that going on an elimination diet without first consulting a doctor is a bad idea. (Anyone with a history of disordered eating should likely steer clear of the Whole30 or any other plan that involves restrictive rules, but again, your best bet is to consult a doctor.) If you do decide to take on a Whole30, a doctor or a registered dietitian can give you expert advice on how to make sure you’re getting the energy and nutrients you need throughout the 30-day program.

As past and present Whole30 adherents know, it’s especially difficult to avoid the forbidden processed foods during the day, when you’re out and about and far from the comforts of your well-stocked and compliant refrigerator and much, much closer to dreaded office vending machines. When hunger strikes out of the blue, you need some healthy snacks that don’t break the rules to keep you energized and satisfied until it’s time to sit down to your next meal.

These 31 Whole30 snacks range from ideas you can make in bulk during Sunday meal prep (so you can eat them whenever) to recipes that need to be made fresh, but don’t take longer than 10 minutes to throw together. Spiced nuts, grainless granola, and crispy green beans are some of the ones you can stock away for a rainy day, while deviled eggs and turkey-wrapped peaches will be ready in a pinch and make great appetizers to boot.

Bananas, blueberries, nuts, and almond butter, finished with cinnamon and coconut. Sounds simple, tastes all kinds of amazing. Just make sure your almond butter and coconut don’t have added sugar (or any other non-compliant ingredients). Get the recipe here.

Here’s how to make hectic mornings so much more sane — and delicous. Cook up a batch of these super simple (and nutrient-packed) paleo egg muffins to seize the day and stay satiated. Batch cooking has never looked so good.

Here’s a little secret to eating healthy: it’s all about being prepared. Even with the best of intentions, it’s far too easy to reach for a donut in the morning instead of a wholesome breakfast if you lack time or the motivation to cook.

Here’s where batch cooking is a healthy game changer in my book. Batch cooking, or spending a few hours one day per week to whip up a variety of easy dishes (cooked grains, overnight oats, massaged kale salad, roasted vegetables, and more) is the easiest way to ensure that pizza for dinner doesn’t happen because you lack the time or energy to cook during the week.

Simply block out a few hours each week, like two hours on Sunday evening, and prep, prep, prep! It helps to menu plan, make grocery lists, and hit the store or the farmers market this day in order to snag everything you may need.

Once you get the basics of batch cooking, and your favorite recipes (like these paleo egg muffins, of course!) you’ll never go back to scrounging around the fridge looking for breakfast or dinner ever again.

Breakfast Batch Cooked with Paleo Egg Muffins

These paleo egg muffins are one way to win the batch cooking game. With just 15 minutes prep time and under 30 minutes in the oven, these delicious and portable egg muffins are ready to go.

Along with being paleo-friendly, grain-free, and gluten-free, these egg muffins are packed will all the good stuff including vegetables, greens, and organic eggs.

Sautéing a variety of vegetables including bell pepper, zucchini, and red onion ensures plenty of vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and flavor, in each and every bite.

These paleo egg muffins also are packed with fresh, lightly sautéed greens. In this recipe I used a combination of spinach and tatsoi greens, but other spring greens like watercress, baby kale, chard, bok choy, mizuna, dandelion, and beet greens work wonderfully as well. If using hardier greens like chard and kale, just make sure to sauté them slightly longer.

The beauty of these paleo egg muffins is their versatility. Swap vegetables as needed and add in as many other vegetables and proteins as you desire.

Once cooked, these paleo egg muffins will keep in the refrigerator for a week. They are super portable and make a great snack on the go, as a pre- or post-workout snack, after school snack, or quick and easy lunch addition.

Ingredients

6 eggs

2 Tbsp avocado oil, divided

¼ cup red onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 small zucchini, chopped

3 cups greens of choice, roughly chopped

¼ tsp oregano

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped

½ tsp sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 12 muffin tins with one tablespoon of avocado oil and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add one tablespoon avocado oil. Add onion and sauté for three minutes, until slightly translucent.

Add bell pepper and zucchini to the skillet and sauté for four minutes more.

Add in chopped greens and sauté until wilted, about one or two minutes.

Remove vegetable skillet from heat.

Scoop a heaped tablespoon of sautéed vegetables into greased muffin tins, using up all vegetable mixture. The vegetables should fill up about ¾ of the tin.

Whisk eggs in a small bowl. Add in oregano, parsley, and sea salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.

Kate is a Nutritionist with a Master’s of Nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon and the blogger and photographer of Vegukate. Kate believes in nourishing the whole body with real, vibrant foods that feed the mind, body, soul, gut, and every single little cell. Her philosophy is simple when it comes to food and nourishment: cut the processed junk, listen to your body, eat by the seasons, eat plates and bowls filled with color, stress less, and enjoy every single bite. When she’s not cooking in her too tiny Portland kitchen, Kate can be found perusing farmer’s markets, doing barre classes, hiking, reading, and exploring.

The thing about cooking is that sometimes it’s fun, and other times it feels like a chore—either way, though, you need to eat. To help you stay ahead of the weekday cooking game, SELF is putting together weekly lists of seven recipes that will hopefully inspire your meal planning for the week ahead. You can check out past weeks’ recipes here. All of the recipes have a balance of protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs, and they’re simple enough for beginner cooks. Several ingredients appear in multiple recipes—brown rice, potatoes, mustard greens, eggs, and fennel—which helps keep your grocery list short.

There are two vegetarian recipes, two chicken recipes, two fish recipes, and a pork recipe, so you won’t get bored.
The number of servings per recipe varies, but you can easily halve or double each of them as it suits you (most make for great lunch leftovers!). Also, you might want to choose just a few recipes and repeat meals for a couple of days—that’s what I do, to be honest. If you cook one of the recipes or have questions, post a photo on Instagram and tag @selfmagazine and @xtinebyrne (that’s me!), or DM us—we love a good food pic as much as you do, and we’re always here to help!

Jarred green curry paste is one shortcut I’m happy to take on weeknights. Making your own isn’t difficult, per se, but it means tracking down a bunch of ingredients you likely don’t stock regularly. This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes and tastes just like what you’d get from a takeout place. Get the recipe here.

This easy vegan cheesecake recipe is made from wholesome ingredients and is ultra-creamy. The light-as-air texture will make the cheesecake melt in your mouth. With a sweet yet crunchy gluten-free crust, this cheesecake is perfection.

Buying The Ingredients

The key ingredient in this recipe is cashews. Once soaked, cashews create a creamy consistency that works wonderfully in cheesecake. You’ll need unsalted and unroasted cashews in this recipe. Cashews can be a pricey ingredient but there are a couple of ways to make them more budget-friendly.

Health food stores sell cashews in the bulk bins which tend to be less expensive. Costco also sells cashews in bulk for a reasonable price. It offers a 40-ounce container of organic unsalted unroasted cashews for under $25. Buying organic cashews is best because conventionally grown cashew trees are often sprayed with endosulfan. The pesticide is so toxic that it has been banned in most countries, but not the U.S.

Cashews are not only rich in protein but also in copper, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, and zinc. Including cashews in one’s diet on a regular basis is an easy and tasty way to eliminate the concern.

The other key ingredients in this cheesecake recipe are coconut oil, vanilla extract, lemon, and Medjool dates. The coconut oil helps to solidify the cheesecake while vanilla extract provides a delicious flavor. Lemon juice adds the tanginess associated with this classic dessert.

Medjool dates provide not only sweetness but also texture to the gluten-free crust. Once pulsed with nuts in a food processor, they provide the perfect base. As a bonus, dates are rich in fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, iron, and protein.

Kitchen Prep

This easy cheesecake recipe requires a high-speed blender, food processor, and a springform pan, so have those handy. If you don’t have a food processor, you can make the crust in the blender as long as it has a pulse function. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you might be able to make the filling in a high-quality food processor but it may not be as smooth.

Make sure you soak your cashews in water in advance. A minimum of six hours soak time is recommended while soaking overnight is ideal and most convenient. The higher speed your blender, the less soak time required. Once done soaking, drain and rinse them into a blender. If you lack the time to soak them fully, you can boil them for ten minutes to soften them quickly.

If your Medjool dates are firm and don’t break apart easily, you’ll need to soak them. Simply soak them in water for about one hour and they should be softened. This will make them disintegrate easier in the food processor.

How To Make Easy Cheesecake

Ingredients

1 ½ cups cashews, soaked and drained

2 lemons, juiced

⅓ cup virgin coconut oil

⅓ cup agave nectar or pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup slivered almonds

½ cup Medjool dates, pitted

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Line a springform pan with parchment paper or a baking mat. Add almonds, dates, and sea salt to a food processor. Pulse until fine and crumbly. Press into the pan until well packed and even. Place in the refrigerator.

Add cashews, lemon juice, coconut oil, sweetener, and vanilla to a high-speed blender. Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Pour filling onto the crust and smooth out with a rubber spatula. Place in the refrigerator to set for about four hours, or until firm. Slice into triangles and serve immediately. Store any leftover cheesecake in the freezer.

While You Bake

For the smoothest possible cheesecake filling, scrape the sides of the blender occasionally during the blending process. Use a rubber spatula to make sure you get all cashew bits and pieces. If you are having trouble getting it completely smooth then add a tiny splash of nondairy milk, preferably coconut milk.

Flavor Tips

Once you’ve mastered easy cheesecake, try your hand at one of these fun flavor variations:

Berry Swirl: Pour half of the filling mixture into the prepared pan with the crust. Then add one cup blueberries, blackberries, or strawberries to the blender. Blend until completely smooth. Swirl berry filling in with the vanilla.

Peanut Butter: Follow recipe instructions for the filling and crust as directed. Then, mix ¼ cup natural peanut butter with one tablespoon melted coconut oil. Swirl peanut butter into filling then place in the refrigerator to set.

Chocolate: Add ¼ cup raw cacao powder to the filling mixture in the blender. Blend well and proceed with recipe as directed.

Key Lime: Add ¼ cup lime juice to the filling mixture in the blender. Blend well and then pour filling into the prepared pan with the crust. Once the cheesecake has firmed up after refrigeration, garnish with lime zest.

Karissa Bowers is a fashion and food blogger living a compassionate lifestyle. Karissa is the blogger of Vegan À La Mode where she shares her favorite vegan and gluten-free recipes and also her eco-friendly cruelty-free style. Her love for photographing food and her outfits, drove her to develop a passion for photography. After a few years of honing in on her photography skills, Karissa launched her business, Karissa Bowers Photography, where she shoots weddings and portraits. When she’s not taking photos or in the kitchen, you can find Karissa traveling and trying new vegan restaurants.

Cooking is fun, but meal planning can be kind of a pain. Lunch in particular can be a real conundrum: I know that all the fast-casual lunch options out there are things I could so easily recreate in my own kitchen, and that packing my lunch is the cheaper option—and yet, I still find myself buying those overpriced and underwhelming grab-and-go lunches at least once a week, solely because of my failure to plan ahead. (And because I’m unwilling to piece together a mish-mash of office snacks and call that a meal.) I’m better about packing lunch than I used to be, but my meal planning game is forever a work in progress.

If you, like me, are always on the lookout for easy lunch ideas and meal prep inspiration, you’re in luck! SELF is putting together weekly lists of seven recipes that will hopefully inspire your meal planning for the week ahead. You can check out past weeks’ recipes here. All of the recipes have a healthy balance of protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs; and, they’re filling, and simple enough for beginner cooks. Several ingredients appear in multiple recipes—sweet potato, kale, quinoa, white beans, snap peas, bell pepper, sunflower seeds, and fennel—plus some easy ingredient swaps (detailed below), all of which helps keep your grocery list short. There are four vegetarian recipes, one beef recipe, one tuna recipe, and salmon recipe, so you won’t get bored.

The number of servings per recipe varies, but you can easily halve or double each of them as it suits you. Also, you might want to choose just a few recipe and repeat meals for a couple of days (that’s what I do, to be honest!). If you cook one of the recipes or have questions, post a photo on Instagram and tag @selfmagazine and @xtinebyrne (that’s me!), or DM us—we love a good food pic as much as you do, and we’re always here to help!

The longer this fennel salad sits, the better it’ll taste, so consider making it the night before and letting it chill in the fridge. By the time you’re ready to eat, the fennel will be slightly softened but still crunchy in the center. Get the recipe here.

It might be almost spring, but it’s still chilly enough that I’m often craving a warm lunch. This vegetable-packed beef stew makes four servings, so you can either eat it for lunch (almost) all week, or freeze leftovers for another time. Get the recipe here.

Even after you’ve mastered basic cooking skills, figuring out what to make for dinner is a never-ending challenge. To help alleviate some of that stress, SELF is putting together weekly lists of seven recipes that will hopefully inspire your meal planning for the week ahead. You can check out past weeks’ recipes here.

All of the recipes have a healthy balance of protein, healthy fats, and healthy carbs; and, they’re filling, and simple enough for beginner cooks. Several ingredients appear in multiple recipes—sweet potato, kale, asparagus, chickpeas, butter lettuce, chicken thighs, herbs, and whole-wheat tortillas—which helps keep your grocery list short. There are two chicken recipes, one salmon recipe, one ground turkey recipe, and three meatless recipes, so you won’t get bored.

The number of servings per recipe varies, but you can easily halve or double each of them as it suits you. Plus, they all make for excellent lunch leftovers. If you cook one of the recipes, post a photo on Instagram and tag @selfmagazine and @xtinebyrne (that’s me!)—we love a good food pic as much as you do, and we’re always open to your feedback!

Oh, and if these recipes don’t do it for you? We have a whole archive of healthy, easy dinner recipes right here.

Roasted sweet potatoes are delicious but take about an hour in the oven. In the microwave, though, a sweet potato takes about six minutes. You won’t get quite the same texture or caramelization, but the microwave trick is great if you’re going to mash the sweet potato to use in a flavor-packed recipe like this one. Get the recipe here.

Pan-roasted chicken thighs are my ultimate go-to, because rendering the chicken fat in the skillet on the stovetop before roasting everything in the oven means that the other ingredients—usually just a mixture of veggies, but sometimes I throw in a cooked grain—cook in that fat and soak up all the flavor. Be sure to slice the sweet potatoes thinly enough here, so that they cook all the way through. Get the recipe here.

Full disclosure: These falafels are a little more involved than other recipes on the list, since you have to break out a food processor to blend ingredients, then shape the mixture into disks, then bake everything. That said, you could absolutely double or triple the recipe and freeze leftovers for later. Get the recipe here.

Frankly, the hardest part of cooking is often figuring out what to make. To help alleviate some of that stress, SELF is putting together weekly lists of seven breakfasts, lunches, or dinners that will hopefully inspire your meal planning for the week ahead. Last week, we laid out a week of easy dinner recipes—this week, we’re focusing on lunch!

Several ingredients appear in multiple recipes—farro, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, apples, carrots, and Parmesan—which helps keep your grocery list short. There’s one chicken recipe, two tuna recipes, and four meatless recipes, so you won’t get bored. Everything keeps well in the fridge overnight, so you don’t have to worry about whether or not your packed lunch will actually survive until lunch. And, since farro appears in five of the recipes, it’s worth it to make a huge batch and store it in the fridge to repurpose for recipes throughout the week. Anything you’re not eating within five days should go in the freezer and thawed as needed.

Each recipe serves one or two people, but you can easily halve or double them as it suits you. Plus, they all make for excellent lunch leftovers. If you cook one of the recipes, post a photo on Instagram and tag @selfmagazine and @xtinebyrne (that’s me!)—we love a good food pic as much as you do.

Oh, and if these recipes don’t do it for you? We have a whole archive of healthy, easy lunch recipes right here.

This salad tastes great warm or cold. And, if you don’t want to add grapes to your grocery list, feel free to substitute chopped apples or raisins, both of which are featured elsewhere on the menu. Get the recipe here.

Lately, I’ve been buying Envy apples, a new-to-me variety that’s crunchy, sweet, and doesn’t brown as easily as other apples after being cut. When it comes to putting apples in lunch salads, this has been a godsend. This bowl is hearty but still tastes healthy and fresh, thanks to plenty of greens, healthy fat, and protein. Get the recipe here.

Because of supersized tortillas and heavy fillings, wraps often get a bad…well, rap. The thing is, whole-wheat tortillas are actually a great blank canvas for all kinds of healthy ingredients, and they pack well. This one is filled with sweet apples, tuna, and avocado, and it’s got a great balance of protein, healthy carbs, and healthy fats. Get the recipe here.

Cooking is simple (once you’ve mastered a few basics), but planning meals isn’t always so easy. In fact, coming up with a meal plan that you know you’ll actually stick to and shopping for the ingredients to make it possible can be a real pain in the ass. I know this because I regularly find myself totally stumped on what to cook for dinner, and I’m someone who literally writes recipes for a living.

To take the guesswork out of your weeknights, we put together seven easy, healthy dinner recipes you should cook this week. Several ingredients appear in multiple recipes—potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, quinoa, dark leafy greens, and basil—which helps keep your grocery list short. There are three chicken recipes, one salmon recipe, and three meatless recipes, so you won’t get bored. And, since quinoa appears in five of the recipes, it’s worth it to make a huge batch and store it in the fridge to repurpose for recipes throughout the week. Anything you’re not eating within five days should go in the freezer and thawed as needed.

Each recipe serves one or two people, but you can easily halve or double them as it suits you. Plus, they all make for excellent lunch leftovers. If you cook one of the recipes, post a photo on Instagram and tag @selfmagazine and @xtinebyrne (that’s me!)—we love a good food pic as much as you do.

Oh, and if these recipes don’t do it for you? We have a whole archive of healthy, easy dinner recipes right here.